Eye on the Amazon: The Official Blog of Amazon Watch

The Official Blog of Amazon Watch

Momentum building as indigenous representatives call to Keep the Oil in the Ground at the People's Climate March in New York

September 26, 2014 – This past week a small group made big waves in New York City. Amazonian indigenous spokespeople and social movement leaders joined the Indigenous Bloc in leading more than 400,000 others at the People's Climate March. Amazon Watch joined front-line indigenous communities and representatives in demanding that humanity keep the oil in the ground as a fundamental solution to climate chaos.

September 23, 2014 – "When women decide to do something, when we are firm and radical, we will be successful and make it happen!" Patricia Gualinga addressed a packed crowd in the very spirit of her words, moving the entire room to a standing ovation. "Everywhere on the planet, we have such a powerful impact."

September 22, 2014 – The key to solving the climate crisis starts with respecting indigenous rights and territory. Indigenous peoples whose lands, culture and way of life are already being destroyed are calling for a stop to the expansion of the oil frontier. Their voices deserve to be heard, especially since the regions they are trying to protect are vital for all of humanity’s survival.

September 20, 2014 – "We have to free ourselves from our addiction to oil. If we want to take on climate change, we can't continue extracting, consuming, looking for more oil and sacrificing more [indigenous] territories," said said Esperanza Martinez, founder and president of Acción Ecológica in an interview with Naomi Klein in New York City.

September 19, 2014 – If we continue preying on the Earth under the banner of the oil economy, we put at risk both our lives and that of the planet. Mother Earth is tired of so much abuse and ill-treatment. Now is the time to put on the brakes, to say, "this is the limit, we can't continue this way."

September 18, 2014 – Our future is in peril and the changing climate is a key indicator. Scientists warn us that global warming is spiraling out of control which is why we need to see immediate action now. As the Amazon basin is a keystone area in combating climate change, preserving this region is essential for humanity's survival.

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Amazon Watch is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1996 to protect the rainforest and advance the rights of indigenous peoples in the Amazon Basin. We partner with indigenous and environmental organizations in campaigns for human rights, corporate accountability and the preservation of the Amazon's ecological systems.